Bore rust and prevention

[ilcop22]

Howdy,

I'd like to gather some ideas regarding removal and prevention of bore rust. I recently (today) noticed a remarkable amount of rust in my AK 74. I went on to check the rest of my collection, finding over half of the bores had light rust forming. This problem, I believe, is due to the exceptional humidity in my area coupled with the moisture in my basement. I do not shoot corrosive ammunition out of the guns with rust.

I had used conventional solvents in the bores (Hoppes, CLP), but either in an insufficient amount or waited too long between re-lubing period. I've come across several ideas on the internet, as well as a couple here.

What methods do you use to either remove or prevent rust? After today, I'm sticking with nothing but Kroil to coat my bores in, but I wonder if that is a long term solution. Bores which I cleaned with Kroil/J-B bore past and polish have not exhibited rust. Let me know your thoughts.

[Ben]

I thought that the AK's had chrome bores ?

[waksupi]

Some of the AK's that are imported had never been boiled out after blueing. So, best thing to do is to give them a full soak in baking soda to neutralize any active salts. They would migrate to your other guns in a safe.

[XWrench3]

i have only a small amount of de-rusting experience, and it was not on guns. i used 00 steel wool and oil. but, that may very well take the bluing away on a gun. so if you try it, beware! as far as preventing it. i stored a browning shotgun for 20 years using olny STP. it worked GREAT! i put a couple of heavy coats on it, and just left it alone. because i put so much on it, it took me a couple of hours to get the action cleaned up to shoot. but if you use a light coat, and a patch at the bottom to collect any that migrates, it will clean out just fine quite fast. i also employ STP on the parts of my guns that do not get regularly wiped down like where the stock covers it or inside of tube magazines. a little goes a long ways. and it sticks like crazy. imo, it is great stuff, and not just for automobile engines. i would not want it in the action of anything though. it is very thick, and would definitly cause problems in anything except extreem heat. also, get it out of the bore before you shoot. it could cause extreem pressures if left in and a round is touched off. since you live in a humid climate, and you store your guns in the basement, you really should look into a dehumidifier for your gunsafe. it would be the best way to keep them from rusting or, several silica gel bags of sufficien size would also work. just be sure to dry them out every so often. i have done this in the oven, and it works.

[Shooter6br]

For monthly rust prevention Ed's Red works great.For long term either Lee liquid alox or plain vasoline.(Cosmoline) Just my experience.

[calaloo]

A fairly new product on the market has proven to be an excellent rust preventive, maybe the best ever. It is called Eezox.

[fishnbob]

I have a couple of cans of Anderol that a gunsmith let me have probably 35 yrs. ago and I have been using it ever since. It is an aerosol, spray it on the metal, take your fingers and spread it out smoothly and it will last in storage forever. For the bore, after cleaning with solvents, I run dry patches until clean, then put a few drops of Browning Oil on a patch and run it through and presto! Any time I handle one I wipe it down with a silicone cloth, metal & wood & no rust.

[geargnasher]

Ed's Red with lanolin per the High-humidity recipe. Hate to tell you this, but Hoppe's is garbage. Love the smell, but it ain't a preservative, I don't care what they say.

+1 on Ric's comment, had it happen with an SKS once, rusted the crown and barrel on the two adjacent guns in the safe, didn't know the same was true for AKs.

Gear

[Mk42gunner]

As far as removing the rust that is already present in the bore, I have had good luck cleaning nasty milsurp barrels with RemClean on a patch wrapped around an old bore brush. Then coat the bore with your favorite preservative. JB bore paste would probably work as well.


Robert

[waksupi]

+1 on Ric's comment, had it happen with an SKS once, rusted the crown and barrel on the two adjacent guns in the safe, didn't know the same was true for AKs.

Gear

Last summer I worked on making around 6500 of the imports US compliant. We found out the hard way about the salts. We didn't notice it, until we were getting some pretty serious burns. Had our fingernails burned down to the quick, fingers were absolutely raw. Some of the guns coming in had their gas cylinder so full of corrosion that we couldn't operate the bolt, and some bores were completely blocked. We scrubbed them in soda pop to neutralize, since that was what we had available at the time.

[ilcop22]

Thanks for the advice so far. As time consuming as it is, I'm gonna stick to scrubbing with JB bore products in addition to Kroil. I did as waksupi suggested and soaked the AK 74 in a baking soda solution, then cleaned it extensively and re-oiled everything. I'll also look into the Ed's Red + LLA recipe.

Hoppes smells great - agreed. That's about all it has going for it. I no longer use no. 9 or their lubricants on semi-autos due to stoppages I've unfortunately experienced. I'm also wary about using any other CLP products since they don't protect well. Great for cleaning/lubricating, though. I've also given all of my surplus bores a good flooding and cleaning to remove any salts which may be left over.

Right now the only gun left with rust is the bore of my 1903a3. I'm actually not entirely certain what's in the bore is rust. It's orange-ish, but it won't come out with any methods - Chemical or mechanical. To be continued with that rifle...

Addendum: Interestingly enough, I came across this article on a google search:

http://www.6mmbr.com/corrosiontest.html

Compares several leading protectants on the market... Needless to say, I'll be giving Eezox a well deserved chance.

And another: http://www.thegunzone.com/rust.html

And so on... http://rugerforum.net/maintenance/16717-gun-oil-products-vs-metal-corrosion-test.html

[Heavy lead]

All the solvents and rust preventitives are great, but I run a de-humidifier in my gun storage area, and in the safe's use chemical de-humidifiers, no to little if ever rust. Keep fingers crossed. Along with quarterly cleaning and re-applying rust preventitives on the not so frequent shot guns.

[Char-Gar]

I live on the Texas Gulf Coast and have never had much of a rest problem, due to the face the guns live in an air conditioned house. I keep a coat of Break Free in the barrels and they will go several years in storage. If they are to be put up longer a light coat of Rig Gun Grease works just fine.

I have acquired a few rifles with some rust in the barrels. I use 0000 steel wool wrapped around bore brush. I also use oil on the brush/wool. Lately it has been Kroil. Works just fine.

[R.C. Hatter]

:coffeecom In my humble opinion, one of the best products for rust prevention is RIG
universal gun grease. After thorough cleaning, apply a thin coat of RIG inside and out,
twice annually, or after each use. I have used it on all my firearms for about 40 years
and have not experienced any rust whatever.

[cajun shooter]

Check on the search key in the Open Range Forum on Eezox. John Boy did a long test with leaving steel wool on the beach next to the Jersey shore. Eezox protected it's steel wool for months. I was convinced and started using it right away. It will also work as a great lube and is made of a synthetic blend. Midway carries it.

[ilcop22]

On the point of removing rust from the barrel, I tried and succeeded greatly with a home-made electric bore cleaner (Surlus Rifle has an article on one). Using an old flashlight, some alligator clips, 00 beveled washers, a MN cleaning rod, some solder and some ammonia, the rig was completed.

I put that sucker down the bore of my M1903a3 which has rust I could not remove with any mechanical or chemical means. After about 30 minutes with the electric cleaner, I removed the rod to discover heavy copper and lead buildup on the rod. After normal cleaning, not a trace of rust or fouling was left in the bore. I'm now in the process of cleaning every rifle with this method. I'll try and post a picture of the rig on the next firearm I clean.

[skeet1]

I agree with Heavy Lead, I would get a dehumidifier for your basement. It will make it more pleasant for you and better for your guns. Then get a good gun oil.

[twotrees]

Cosmoline Rust-Veto® A-2

This what we use in the lab for harsh environment protection. I have used it for years for storage on all my firearms. It dries to a transparent wax film. Most any solvent will easily remove it.


cosmoline direct/ (http://www.cosmolinedirect.com/)

Not cheap, but neither are guns. (Works well on machine shop tools and equipment too.)